In the face of several regulatory setbacks for Bitcoin this week, BTCC co-founder Bobby Lee and Fundstrat Global Advisors’ Tom Lee both went on record in recent days to forecast a turnaround in the fortunes of the largest cryptocurrency.

“When (Bitcoin) passes the USD $60,000 price level in the coming years, it‘ll reach a total circulation value of $1 Trillion,” Bobby Lee wrote on Twitter yesterday, continuing: "That will be a huge (milestone) for (BTC), and it‘ll lead to more price stability, higher global liquidity, and even faster adoption worldwide."

Former penny-stock broker Jordan Belfort spent nearly two years in prison for scamming investors, says CNBC. Bitcoin, he has no doubt, is the next trap that could leave some retail investors penniless.

"I was a scammer. I had it down to science and it's exactly what's happening with bitcoin," he told CNBC in a recent documentary. "The whole thing is so stupid, these kids have gotten themselves so brainwashed."

Belfort ran an over-the-counter brokerage house on Long Island called Stratton Oakmont, and pleaded guilty in 1999 to manipulating investors into buying stocks that eventually turn out to be worthless. The former broker's story was made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's "Wolf of Wall Street."

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1.30pm UPDATE: Ethereum founder tops the five most famous cryptocurrency personalities

The fact that cryptocurrency has become a “phenomenon that the famous personalities of the crypto sphere are almost at par with the popularity of Hollywood stars” has made an exchange release the list of 5 Most Famous Crypto Personalities.

This time,Bithemoth Exchange, who published the ranking placed Vitalik Buterin second among several famous crypto personalities.

Vitalik Buterin started off as a writer for Bitcoin, and this made him co-found the famous Bitcoin Magazine. While writing about Bitcoin, he thought of unraveling Ethereum

Bithemoth Exchange said about him: “No, he’s not a robot, he’s an unbelievably smart individual who has achieved plenty at the age of 24 years old. His tweets are technical and rises debates with cryptocurrency developers around the world. It is no wonder his decisions make an impact, given Ethereum’s place in the cryptocurrency market placed ranked in at 2nd”.

11am UPDATE: The decoupling of Bitcoin & the alts

Luke Shipley, CEO of Zinc thinks bitcoin and the slew of altcoins will lowly separate and be independent of eachother.

Mr Shipley said: "In the wake of ETFs sparking wildfire in the cryptosphere, we’re seeing this trigger a new wake in the crypto waters.

"Traditionally we’ve seen Bitcoin strongly correlate with “the alts” moving at a relatively similar speed in either direction up or down. The accepted thesis is that alts are pegged against Bitcoin. Many believe that as Bitcoin slows down and settles upon its store of value, some alts will realise their utility and overtake the leader.

"However, they are no longer moving in longstep anymore. Bitcoin has been moving in the same direction as the entire market, but at a much slower pace. It becomes clear that nothing helps put the due in due diligence more than a bear market. The appetite for risk decreases and the money spent on crypto is going on the “safer” bets."

9.50am UPDATE: Could BTC drop another $3,000?

Anthony Pompliano, founder and partner, Morgan Creek Digital Assets has predicted that bitcoin could fall as low as $3,000 in a complete turnaround from one of the market’s most bullish positions.

In a post, Pompliano stated that his January prediction of a $50,000 year-end bitcoin price was wide of the mark by as much as four years.

He stated: “Parabolic increases in price continue to take longer — each parabolic run is measured from the last all-time high to the new all-time high. The first rapid price appreciation took just over 300 days (2010-2011) and the second took over 900 days (2011-2013). The last parabolic price increase peaked at ~$20,000 (2013-2017) and took almost 1,500 days to complete.”

Bitcoin grew 1.27 percent to trade for $6.728.31 at the time of writing, at 9am (Image: GETTY)

Experts warn that the positive charts could be a calm before BTC plummets again (Image: GETTY)

9amUPDATE: Trend reversal on the way as BTC prices correlate with emerging markets, says CEO

Tom Lee, Fundstrat’s bitcoin analyst has claimed cryptocurrency prices could have an explosive climax to 2018, claiming a correlation between the cryptocurrency market and emerging markets.

The Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors has said that he “still think[s] it’s possible” that Bitcoin’s price could surge to as high as $25,000 this year.

Lee has based this assumption on the relationship between the price of BTC and BlackRock’s iShares MSCI Emerging Markets exchange-traded fund (ETF), which tracks large and mid-sized companies in emerging markets.

The “important correlation,” according to Lee, lies in the fact that both markets are running somewhat parallel to each other, with both having “really essentially peaked” in early 2018, as well as “both [having been] in a downward trend” from then on.